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Goebel earns Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor

On National Signing Day I was manuevering my way through the football offices after conducting an interivew with assistant coach Jon Jancek. On my way out the front door I came across John Goebel.

It's a pleasure to run into Goebel because he's such a pleasant, funny guy. But this time I wanted to talk with him about how surprised I was when he called into the Andy Furman radio show I was on a week earlier...at 8 a.m. How very unlike a college student to be up doing anything at 8 a.m., much less calling in to talk UC with that crew.

All I did my senior year at 8 a.m. was roll over and make sure I still had all my credit cards and keys.

After talking with Goebel he was telling me about the internship work he was doing with the radio station and how he's already graduated and doing graduate work now.

The dream of playing football on the next level isn't gone, he said. Whether it be NFL, UFL or whatever comes along. But, clearly, Goebel had his plan lined up if that falls through.

So, it was no surprise to hear he won the American Eagle Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor.

Congrats, John. Well deserved. You're the perfect example of what the student athlete is supposed to be.

Here's the full release from UC:

CINCINNATI - University of Cincinnati running back John Goebel (Milford, Mich./Brother Rice), a member of two BIG EAST championship teams and a key part of some of the most successful seasons in school history, has been chosen as the 2010 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The selection was made by the conference's Academic Affairs Committee and is presented on the basis of academic credentials and athletic performance.

Goebel, a graduate student, will receive a $2,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies.

Goebel is a veteran of 46 career games, during which time Cincinnati enjoyed its most prosperous run in program history. Most recently, he appeared in 11 games in the 2010 season, serving as the Bearcats' short-yardage specialist. He rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

Goebel was limited to seven games in an injury-shortened 2009 season, which saw the Bearcats go undefeated in the regular season on their way to a second straight BIG EAST title and a No. 3 ranking in the final Bowl Championship Series standings of the season. He enjoyed his best year in 2008, when he rushed for 607 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns on 133 carries, helping the Bearcats to an 11-3 season that included Cincinnati's first BIG EAST championship.

In addition to his on-field accomplishments, Goebel carries a 4.00 grade-point average in Cincinnati's graduate-level educational leadership program. He is a member of Sigma Sigma, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the Committee for Athletics Tradition and Spirit and Athletes In Action.

Goebel has volunteered his time in a number of community service endeavors, including weekly participation in the Bearcats' Cats In The Community effort. He served as a unit leader at the Stepping Stones Center, assisting children with disabilities, and participated in the I Love Cincinnati cleanup effort. He is a regular visitor to the Ronald McDonald House of Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Goebel is the first Cincinnati player to be chosen as the American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The honor is one of a number of scholarships presented by the BIG EAST Conference and American Eagle Outfitters during the 2010-11 academic year. Thirty-two student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST's 16 member institutions) will be named as the winners of the American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. The conference also names male and female American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

The winners of the institutional, football and basketball awards are then eligible for the American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, which provides an additional postgraduate scholarship to one male and one female student-athlete.